Not Running
by Hayley128
Summary: Buffy has overslept on a very important day.


Title: Not Running

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Summary: Buffy has overslept on a very important day.

A/N: written to get over a little writer's block. :)

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><p>Last night was great but I think I drank a little too much. No, I know I drank a little too much because the last thing I remember was sitting on a curb telling someone how awesome it would be to have some cheese fries.<p>

No, I don't remember where the curb was and I didn't know who I was talking to. I don't even like cheese fries.

Willow and Xander decided to take me out last night as kind of a last great night out type of thing. We're all kind of moving on and we wanted to go out and have some fun, just the three of us. There were no boyfriends, girlfriends, family or anyone else who thought it would be fun to tag along. It was just the three of us.

It was fun, too. We found a club that had some great music, the drinks were cheap and we didn't feel like senior citizens there. There were a couple empty tables so we set up there and danced and drank. We even talked about all the times in Sunnydale, sticking to the good or the things we can laugh about now.

We didn't talk about any of the bad, which was good because that wasn't how I wanted to remember the night. I just wanted to hang out with my two best friends, the ones that stuck by me through everything. Hell, they risked their lives on multiple occasions voluntarily just because they thought it was the right thing to do. They could have run screaming from me but they stayed.

I can't believe I won't be near them anymore.

It's been a few years since we left the giant crater that was Sunnydale and slowly everyone's been moving along with their lives. Some slayers wanted nothing more than to go home while others wanted to be stationed all over the world. I have to admit it was a little weird that certain people wanted to do the exact opposite of what I thought they would.

Take Faith: I figured she would want to go as far away from the rest of us as she could get. That's not what happened at all and I know I wasn't the only one that was shocked. Instead of ditching us in the middle of the night, Faith volunteered to do whatever Giles thought was best. She completely took his lead and I was impressed.

I was also insanely attracted to the new authoritative Faith. Giles did kind of put her in charge since I decided to take a backseat to everything and concentrate on watching out for Dawn and doing that whole sisterly bonding thing. I had kind of slacked on that and was determined to make up for it.

Then she went off to college and I was left with not much on my plate. I started working with Faith and we hit it off. She asked me out one day then I asked her out after that and we went from there.

Faith is partially the reason I went out with Willow and Xander last night. We're kind of taking that next step and that means I'll be seeing a lot less of my friends. Moving tends to do that.

"Oh, shit!" I yell out as I bolt upright in my bed, nearly falling out of it in the process.

I look at the clock and notice that it's almost nine in the morning. I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be awake two hours ago.

"Shit," I mumble again as I reach for my phone. There's a couple calls and a voicemail from Faith along with text message wondering the where I am, all in Faith's color vocabulary.

My feet hit the floor and it's only when I stand that I fully realize how hung over I am. Those last few shots were definitely a mistake and I wonder how my friends are doing. I'm still wearing my clothes from last night and when I walk out of my room I almost run into Xander.

"Damn, Buffy, you almost ran into me," he said. "It already feels like I've been run over I don't want to make that literal." He pauses then raises an eyebrow. "Uh, should you be gone?"

I narrow my eyes at him. "I blame you and Willow for this one. We shouldn't have picked last night to go out."

He put his hands up. "Hey, it was the only night we could. It's not like you had to pack or anything. You're just taking what you need."

I don't like that he's right and I'm about to respond when my phone rings. I know exactly who it is so I don't even bother to look before answering. "Hey, baby," I say in my sweetest "I know I fucked up" voice.

"What the fuck, B?" Faith yells out on the other end. "You are supposed to be here right now so we can get everything together to leave."

"I'm so sorry," I say quickly. "I went out last night and had way too much to drink. I just woke up but I'll be other there in a bit. I just need to shower and change."

"Bullshit."

The response has me raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"That's bullshit, B. Do you remember what happened two months after we started dating?" I do but I'm not about to interrupt her. "I went out with some of the other slayers and got completely trashed. I was so hung over that I forgot about our lunch date. Remember that?"

"Yeah."

"You told me that doing shit like that makes it seem like I had gone out and gotten an excuse not to do something. That I made it look like I went out and got so wasted so that I would have an excuse not to be with you."

"Faith, that's not . . ."

"I'm not done," Faith says quickly. "I know you don't want to leave your friends. I know that coming with me is a big deal. It's a big fucking deal for me, too. But making it so we're going to miss our fucking flight . . . you should just tell me you don't wanna go."

"Of course I want to go." I take a breath and quickly walk away from Xander and back to my room. "I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't."

Faith lets out a sarcastic laugh. "Have you packed anything?"

"I was going to have it sent later."

"You know what? Don't come with me. I'm leaving for the airport." Faith hangs up before I can even respond.

I sit down on my bed and just look at the floor for a second as I think about what Faith just accused me of. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about moving with Faith to London but I wasn't about to tell her not to go. This is a huge opportunity for her. She's essentially taking over for Giles and that's big and I want to be there for her.

I really don't need to bring anything big either. We already have a furnished apartment waiting for us and I figured I wouldn't bring a huge amount of clothes right away. Willow already offered to ship anything or even transport anything that I would need once we arrived and started living there. Everything was figured out.

Not to Faith, I guess. She's been nervous about all of it and has asked me more than once if moving with her is what I want. I've always said yes but maybe my actions haven't always matched. I've been late to a few appointments and I didn't go to London with her two months ago when she wanted me to even though my excuse was valid. Someone had to keep an eye on things while she was gone since no one knew who was going to replace her at the time.

None of that matters right now because Faith's leaving and she thinks it's without me. There's no way I want that to happen. I love her too much for that.

Showering is quick and I don't bother with much else other than the two bags I packed a few days ago. The rest isn't important since my goal right now is to fix whatever is wrong and to make sure Faith knows that I want to be with her. There's no place I'd rather be at this point.

Loving Faith hasn't exactly been easy but it's been the best experience of my life. I've learned so much about her and we've had so much fun together. She had can be like a little kid sometimes and other times she's making difficult decisions without regret. I can spend all day in bed with her and it'll feel like a minute.

We've wasted away a lot of days in bed.

Xander's the best because he calls for a taxi while I'm getting ready so there's one waiting for me when I'm ready to go. We say a quick goodbye and then I'm off to the airport as fast as the car can take me.

On the way I try to put together what I want to say to Faith. She's already heard me say that I love her. We've been saying that to each other for a few months so it's not an uncommon phrase. It was the last thing I said to her yesterday before I went out with Willow and Xander.

No, I need to really tell her more than just that I love her. She needs to hear how much it'll kill me to have her on the other side of the ocean. I need to tell her that I'm so attached to her that waking up alone has started to hurt. That I was never completely comfortable in my own skin until the first morning I woke up in her arms.

Before I know it we're at the airport and I tip extra because the driver sped the entire way. I grab my bags and make the journey to where I know I need to go. It's a bit of an ordeal but when I look at my watch I notice that I still have time and I know as long as I see Faith and stop her, the plane won't leave without us.

That's the perk of having a private plane.

It doesn't take me long to find Faith. She's sitting by herself in a row of chairs with her head in her hands. It makes my heart hurt because she doesn't look excited like she should. Instead, she looks sad and a little depressed.

I feel terrible.

I walk over, stopping when I'm standing right in front of her and wait for her to say something. She doesn't for a minute and it makes me wonder if she is going to refuse to acknowledge my existence.

"Why are you here?"

I guess not. "Because we are moving to London today."

She looks up at me and the look on her face is a mixture of sadness and anger. "That's what I'm doing but I'm not sure about you. It seems like you wanna stay."

"Baby, you know that's not true." I sit down next to her. "I'd be lying if I said this wasn't scary but I want to be with you."

Faith looks away from me and all I want to do is put my arms around her. The very thought of her leaving without me is causing me to panic and she's been the one who has been getting me to stop doing that. She mumbles something and not even my slayer hearing can pick it up.

"What, Faith?"

"I'm scared, too," Faith says quietly then looks at me. I can definitely see the fear in those big, brown eyes of hers. "What if I fail?"

I take her hand and give it a little squeeze. "You're not going to fail. Giles wants you there because he believes you're the right person to take over. You've proven yourself over and over."

Faith looks away again and doesn't respond to me. We sit in silence for a few minutes and when I look over at the clock I see that we're supposed to leave in fifteen minutes. Giles and another representative from the Council are supposed to meet us at the airport so I know it'll be good to stick to the schedule now that I'm here and from the look of things all of Faith's things are already on the plane.

"Faith, I'm sorry if it looks like I don't want to move. I know I didn't go to London to look at the apartment and I missed a few appointments that you wanted me to be at but you have to understand that doesn't mean I don't want to go." I laugh. "I think I'm at the point where I'd follow you anywhere."

She looks back at me then and I'm not sure if she believes me or not until her hand is on the back of my head and she's pulling me in for a kiss. I respond instantly and we kiss slowly for a minute until she breaks away. We look into each other's eyes and I can tell Faith is calmer now. I think she believes me now.

"You really want to go? Move in with me and be away from your friends?"

"Of course, I do."

Faith stands and takes my hand. "Let's go then."

I smile and take her hand, letting her pull me up. She takes one of my bags and I take the other as we walk away, both of us ready for the next chapter in our life to begin.

The End


End file.
